Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Receives Average Recommendation of "Buy" from Analysts

Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) have been given an average recommendation of "Buy" by the ten ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $221.44.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ZTS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Argus raised Zoetis to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Zoetis from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. BTIG Research lifted their target price on Zoetis from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Zoetis from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th.

Zoetis Price Performance

ZTS stock traded up $0.41 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $177.37. The stock had a trading volume of 1,389,584 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,537,002. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $185.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $180.72. The company has a current ratio of 3.69, a quick ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The company has a market cap of $80.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.90. Zoetis has a 52-week low of $144.80 and a 52-week high of $201.92.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 51.98% and a net margin of 26.55%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.36 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Zoetis will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.432 per share. This represents a $1.73 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. Zoetis's payout ratio is 32.52%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Zoetis

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Zoetis in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in Zoetis in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Zoetis in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its stake in Zoetis by 80.6% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 168 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 273.2% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 209 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Zoetis Company Profile

Zoetis Inc engages in the discovery, development, manufacture, and commercialization of animal health medicines, vaccines, and diagnostic products and services in the United States and internationally. The company commercializes products primarily across species, including livestock, such as cattle, swine, poultry, fish, and sheep and others; and companion animals comprising dogs, cats, and horses.